- Rostin Behnam said the process could take 3-4 years
- CFTC is fighting for new funding from Congress
- The rules will go into effect if Congress and Biden agree on legislation to create a framework for digital assets
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman, Rostin Behnam, said it will take time to create and implement new legislation for digital assets. In his opinion, it may take about 3-4 years. Assuming Congress appropriates new funding, the period is reduced to one to two years.
“I estimate that without additional funding, the agency’s compliance process for possible regulation of spot cryptocurrency markets could take three to four years. Right now, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) only has the authority to regulate digital asset derivatives such as bitcoin and ether,” Behnam said.
He also expressed that there is some gap for digital tokens, which are not securities. With these words, he wanted to convey his long-standing message that the CFTC needs additional authority to regulate spot markets for digital assets.
The CFTC has expressed a request to increase its annual funding by about 10%, from $365 million to $411.14 million.. Nevertheless, the agency has long found it difficult to increase funding because Congress has not given the necessary attention. Passage of legislation classifying digital assets as commodities would also give the CFTC more authority, beyond its current purview, to directly regulate them.